Lapsed
by XALLOWspuffyBuFf
Summary: Dawn goes to LA seeking help from Angel but finds Spike instead. Apparently Buffy is in some horrible trouble which Spike needs to pull her out of. Spuffy. Possible Connor/Dawn Pairing. R&R please!


_Disclaimer: I do not own the Characters or settings in this story. They all belong to their brilliant Creator Joss Whedon._

**A/N: I am kind of in a tough spot with my other fic for those of you reading Sin Again. I have to write one of those difficult chapters that kind of connect two of them together. I don't know exactly how I will do it yet, but writing this story should loosen things up in my mind a bit. After this chapter all go right back to writing my other one, I promise. Who knows, You might like this one better anyway.**

**Lapsed**

She had come to seek help from a familiar face. Help from someone who she trusted loved her sister Buffy enough to fly out to Rome and save her. She didn't exactly know what and how bad the situation was, but all she knew was that something's gone terribly wrong and it needed to be fixed before it got worse.

Dawn hadn't been in LA in a really long time, not since the summer her and Buffy went to go visit their dad one summer seven years ago. It still all seemed pretty familiar though. She had heard that Angel went into some huge battle against the senior partners of Wolfram and Hart and now he was back at the hotel where he runs Angel investigations again. Though she had never been there herself she was now old enough to know how to ask around. It only took an hour or two until she found some flier that advertised the place.

It was about nine at night when she stepped through hotel doors and she was sure she would find someone making a ruckus of some kind, but to her surprise it seemed rather empty.

"Angel? Angel?" She called, but no one answered. She turned and headed back for the door, but paused when she heard yelling from another room. "Hello? Is somebody there? Hello" Dawn walked closer to the source and jumped back when a bleach blonde man dressed in black went flying out of the nearby office and over the frond desk.

"You horrible blue wretch! What in the bleedin' hell was that for?" Spike yelled toward Illyria as he held his head on the ground.

"I lack my daily confrontation and wish to do more violence upon you."

"I thought we got past this whole pet thing. I am not your toy or whatever and you bloody well know that, ya blue bitch."

"Your insolence amuses me."

"Yeah, I figured that."

Dawn stood in shock with the scene playing before her. Spike was there! She figured all there problems where solved. "S-Spike?" She said softly. He looked up at her with a surprising face. He had not expected her of all people to suddenly show up here. He stood up again.

"Dawn? What are you doing here?"

"So it is you?"

"Yeah, it's me alright."

"How are you…? I mean how could you…?"

"Be here?" Spike finished the sentence for her as it was difficult for the girl to get out the words.

"Well, yeah. Last I saw you, you died in the hellmouth."

"I guess I am just like your sister that way. The death or un-death doesn't really seem to stick. Why are you here, pet?"

"Uhhh, see, I kind of came here to ask Angel for something…" She decided to ask the questions of Spikes miraculous reappearance later because now she had to go right down to business.

"Sorry, but tall and broody boy isn't here. Went out of town for some mission or whatever. If you need to wait for him your welcome to stay in one of the rooms he's got here. You can trash the place and drive him off his rocker."

"No, it might be kind of urgent. But seeing as you are here, I think it kind of worked out better."

"Is that right? What do you need me for niblet?" He said all proud of himself and with a smile.

"It may not come to be a shock to why I need your help, but it's Buffy."

"Buffy!? What about Buffy? Is she alright?" He started to talk frantically.

"She might not be. I don't know what for sure, but I do know that there is something bad going on with her. She's different." Spike sighed in a relief.

"You came all the way down here on the account of her being different? Buffy changes her tune anytime something big happens. In her case being a free slayer and moving to Rome and what not. Does she even know you're here?"

"She thinks I'm at my friend Carol's house."

"Well you should probably head back before the big sis gets worried and calls Carol"

"That's just it. I don't even have a friend named Carol." Spike raised an eyebrow in confusion. "She didn't check my story or ask my friend's parents' phone number or anything."

"Wait, She let you go to an imaginary friend's without making sure it was true and leaving the chance of you being nicked by some baddy?" Dawn nodded. "Well, to Rome then? We have to go there and see what's up. And if she hasn't gotten into any trouble we should get her to have her bleedin' head examined." He said directing her to the door.

"That's for sure. And Spike?" he stopped and faced her. "Thanks"

"Of course! Do you think that I would let anybody get their soddin' mitts on you or Buffy?"

She paused for a second, remembering what he had tried to do to Buffy a few years ago. But she snapped out of it while re-realizing that that was the past evil and soulless Spike, not the life sacrificing champion Spike. "No. I guess not." She smiled.

"Good. Then let's go. You can tell me the details on the flight there."

"Oh yeah. I got here on a jet that we can also use to get us back."

"How on earth did you manage that?"

"I told Giles that there was a new slayer here that a seer found and Buffy asked me to come and get her. He arranged it with his new council buddies to fly me down."

"Now there's a smart girl." He smirked.

"I am glad somebody thinks so." They both exited together leaving Illyria blankly staring. She hadn't made a noise only so she could study their encounter. As usual she found it informative.

---------

The two of them entered the jet and sat down on the white leather chairs. Spike grabs one of the drinks from the mini fridge.

"Don't you think you should be sober? You never know what mess we have to get Buffy out of."

"Don't worry, luv, these things can't get a vampire drunk. Now tell me everything that has been happening. Does it have to do with the immortal?"

"Probably. How do you know about him?"

"Uhhh. Long story. Just get to the point." He said making Dawn roll her eyes.

"Well she started seeing him about four and a half months ago. Everything seemed to be going just fine. She finally started to be happier after your death."

"It took her that long for her to be happy?"

"Well, yeah. I know that you didn't believe it, but she really did love you. She acted kinda like she did when he killed Angel, without the running away part." He had a of surprise and confusion.

Was Buffy really telling the truth? Spike never really found it possible. He had spent those few years loving her and the shock of hearing she, as of just recently, loved him back was a little overwhelming that he didn't really want to express it to much at his point until he heard from Buffy herself (without him about to die for her)

"So she started acting different then?"

"No. Not the kind of different she is now. See, she was sad and detached, but as you know that's normal for her. Now she only cares about the immortal and dancing and actually tries to get me to leave more. When she gets back home, well…"

_Buffy and Dawn's Apartment, Rome, three months ago…_

_Dawn sat on the couch watching TV and was laughing at a cartoon. Andrew comes walking out of the bathroom._

"_Is your show almost done? I want to get to sleep."_

"_You geek! It's only six o' clock."_

"_Yeah, well, I need to wake up early tomorrow for a very important mission."_

"_Fine." She turns off the TV "Buffy and I are going out anyway."_

_Buffy walks into the living looking all dolled up like she was going to a club._

"_Hey Buff? Don't you think that's a little dressy for McDonalds? I know the Rome version is a bit fancier but…"_

"_Oh, Dawnie, I forgot. I'm meeting the immortal at the Gilda. I am running late and he might even be there already. But I'll pick you something on the way home. I'll be back at about eleven. Just raid the fridge to find something that will hold you over. Kay?"_

"_But, Buffy, I…" But Buffy already headed out the door._

_Hours went by and waited patiently in the living room. Andrew had fallen asleep on the coach and was snoring like always. It was one in the morning. She got nervous because Buffy didn't stick to her word. 'What happened to her?' 'Is she in a ditch somewhere?' 'uhhh, why isn't she home yet?'. Those thoughts ran through her mind and she began to imagine horrible events that could lead to her sister getting hurt or dead. _

_As the hour rounded up to two o'clock she started to nod off a bit until she finally just decided to get into her own bed. She slept until someone came into her room and shook her to wake her up. Dawn read her alarm and it was now four in the morning. She saw her sister sitting over her. Buffy was sweating, her hair was a mess, and she tried to hide the fact that the iris' of her eyes had turned black. Dawn couldn't really know for sure or not since it was dark in her room to begin with._

"_Hey Dawnie. 'M-sorry but I forgot your food. Did you end up eating anything?"_

"_I took money from your stash and bought pizza"_

"_Well good." Buffy said in a weird way and then just started giggiling._

"_Buffy, what's the matter with you? Where did you go?" Dawn was REALLY starting to get concerned._

"_What do you mean? I am perfectly fine. And I told you I was going to the club." She swayed back and forth until she fell in Dawn's arms._

"_Buffy? Buffy? Please tell me what's wrong with you!" She shook her, trying to keep her conscious._

"_I am just t-tired. I swear, I'm alright." She got back up and began to walk back to her own room. "I am going to get some sleep. Night, Dawn."_

Spike stared in shock. "It's been three months and you just came for help now?"

"I would of if it had continued that way. But then she got really good at covering it up. I thought it might have been just a one night thing."

"What clued you in that it was still going on?"

"I guess one time it lasted for days."

"oh, bugger. Who would think the slayer would be hopped up on the bad medicine. Damn!"

"Actually, I don't think its drugs, not exactly."

"Well, what you reckon then?"

"Do you remember that one day, three years ago, when you and Buffy saved me from a demon when Willow got into that stuff with Rack?"

"Yeah, I think I remember that pretty well."

"I think that Buffy is doing the same thing Willow was doing. Using a Wizard like Rack to make her see things with magic. She seemed to act exactly the same way and like I said, I could have swore that I saw her eyes black." She said which made Spike have lots of worry in his eyes.

"We have to put an end to this as soon as possible."

"Spike? What is it? How bad is it?"

"It's worse than you think, pet. There are only two Wizards that I have ever heard of that could do stuff like that. Rack was nothing compared to the other guy. And Red took care of Rack so we know it isn't him in all this."

"W-who is he?" She was getting freaked.

"His name's Brunin. I've seen what he's done to people and it isn't a pretty sight, even for a vampire. After a long while with him you'll find people acting inhuman. Basically they just change into mindless living zombies." He downed the tiny bottle of booze and smashed it against the wall which caused Dawn to jump. "Sorry pet. Didn't mean to spook you."

"Don't apologize. One thing that can keep our hopes up is that she can't be that far in it. How else would she hide the symptoms so well?"

"We'll just have to see for ourselves. I am not going to be happy about anything until I know Buffy hasn't lost herself." He stared at the ground. Dawn went next to him to give him a friendly hand on the shoulder. "God, this whole thing is my fault." He whispered.

"What? No! Why?" Dawn was really confused.

"I've been undead and all for a while now and if I would of stuck to my gut and came to Rome I could of kept her away from the immortal."

"Ummm, how did you come back exactly?"

"Are you sure you want me to get into that?"

"I think it's important for me to understand what's going on. At a time like this."

"Fine then, luv. A while after our adventure in the hellmouth Peaches got the amulet I used mysteriously in the mail. As soon as it dropped on the floor I appeared as bloody ghosty right in front of them. We never really figured out what the amulet was. I tried to get out of LA to find the two of you, but apparently I was tied down to Wolfram and Hart, magically unable to go anywhere. One of my good friends tried to make me corporeal again, but it didn't really work out the way we wanted it to. But we got another package in the mail, this time for me, and like before without a return address. I got it open, there was a bit of a flash and a tickle and I could feel again." Spike said not at all enthused about the story.

"When did all this happen?"

"I came out of the amulet about a year ago and was corporeal month later."

"Oh."

"Beginning to realize why I'm to blame for this?"

"No, I just don't understand why you didn't contact Buffy after all this time."

Spike gritted his teeth and hung his head lower out of guilt. "I didn't want her to see that I was back because I didn't want to lose the way she looked at me the day I burned up. She was proud of me and if I just showed up on her doorstep a month and a half later the whole thing would have meant nothing."

Spike couldn't even bare to think of it. He just thought about how selfish he was for not seeing her sooner. The love of his life could be becoming nothing and he convinced himself that he was the reason for it.

"You didn't believe she loved you. You didn't know that she would miss you as much as she did. Spike, listen to me when I say that it isn't your fault. And I would like to start talking about Buffy like she isn't a lost cause. If we're gonna help her we need to know that she'll be okay."

"I guess you're right, niblet. Thanks. But you should know that I am not letting myself off the hook."

"I know. I figured you wouldn't."

He was really happy that she found him instead of Angel. He knew that Angel loved her too, but thought that he had a better chance of getting Buffy out of this with the terrible guilt hanging over his head. He was NOT going to let this thing get any further and he was going to destroy the immortal for bring her in this mess.


End file.
